Book holders are known in the prior art for holding paperback or other books in an open position. Although there are many disclosures of book holders, a preferred type is spring loaded to hold the book open and has a transparent strap across the center of the book to keep the pages flat against the book holder in the open position. The user can turn the pages of the book simply by closing the book holder, which causes the transparent strap to move away from the book holder, so the page can be turned. When the book holder is again opened, the new page is under the transparent strap. In a closed position, the transparent strap wraps around the book holder and acts to hold it closed against the bias of the spring assembly. A book holder of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,522 and it is this type of device that this invention most nearly relates. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,522 is incorporated herein by reference.